We'll keep this relatively short, since there are plenty of sources of information out there on the ultra- reactionary, dangerous Republican "One Big Beautiful Bill" for billionaires, which is likely to pass the Senate today. We're going to highlight some points from Paul Krugman's eponymous Substack and from a summary from NBC News. First, two charts from Krugman on the apocalyptic effect of the bill on health insurance coverage (click to enlarge):
The bill would turn back the clock to pre- Affordable Care Act days (because, after all, afflicting the afflicted is always the Republican goal).
According to NBC News,
The cuts would take a particular toll on people in rural areas who are more likely to receive their health insurance through Medicaid than those in urban or suburban areas. Researchers at Georgetown University found that 40% of children in small and rural towns receive their health insurance from Medicaid. The bill could also reduce the number of people who receive their insurance through the Affordable Care Act.
The version of the Senate bill released over the weekend also includes cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, also known as food stamps, by requiring adults ages 18 to 64 without disabilities to work at least 80 hours a month unless they are caring for children under 10. The added requirements could lead to $300 billion in cuts to food stamp spending, according to the Congressional Budget Office. (our emphasis)
Losers under the MAGAt Republican bill also include young people, who'll be dealing with the bill's ballooning debt for years:
The amount of money Americans pay toward interest on the country’s debt is expected to increase sharply in the coming years, totaling $78 trillion over the next 30 years and accounting for 34% of federal revenues, according to the Congressional Budget Office.
Paying for that added interest will fall to future generations, likely in the form of higher taxes and less spending on other programs younger generations could benefit from, like early childhood education, more affordable housing or improved infrastructure. It will also give the U.S. less flexibility to borrow if there is a future crisis, such as a pandemic or war.
As U.S. debt has ballooned — with the current ratio of debt to gross domestic product at similar levels to those seen during World War II — it has also increased concern among investors about the country's ability to make its debt and interest payments on time. That means investors are starting to seek a higher interest payments, or yield, in exchange for buying U.S. debt, which could also drive up interest rates for other private loans — with higher mortgage rates or interest on a small business loan. (our emphasis)
We know from the self- interested South Afrikaner fascist Elon "Leon" Musk that clean energy will take a huge hit, while fossil fuel companies reap benefits:
Both the House and the Senate bill include wins for the fossil fuel industry, stripping away numerous provisions put in place during President Joe Biden's administration to shift energy consumption away from fossil fuels. Both bills would delay a fee on excess methane pollution by oil and gas companies, roll back Biden-era rules to curb vehicle emissions and include provisions intended to speed the development of new fossil fuel projects.
The Senate bill also includes a new tax workaround for oil drillers that would enable many of them to avoid having to pay a corporate alternative minimum tax of 15%. [snip]
Clean energy companies say the bill could cripple their businesses by stripping away tax subsidies and funding made available during the Biden administration. The Senate bill would go further than the earlier version passed in the House by imposing new tax penalties on wind and solar farm projects started after 2027, unless they met certain requirements. That could jeopardize billions of dollars in investments in clean energy projects — along with the thousands of jobs that would come along with those projects, including in Republican-led states like Georgia and South Carolina.
Other provisions would reduce benefits for consumers buying electric vehicles, solar panels and appliances to make their homes more energy efficient. (our emphasis)
Bottom line: Pursuing vengeful rollbacks of popular, sensible, and effective (Democratic) programs while bulking up the ICE goon establishment, and extending the Malignant Fascist's corporate and billionaire tax cuts, means that the bottom 80 percent of households and future generations, as well as the rest of us in one way or another, get screwed.
"Party of the working class," my ass! The bastards responsible for this need to pay, and pay dearly.
UPDATE: The MAGAt Republican Senate just passed the billionaire bill 51-50, with couch fancier J.D. Vance casting the tie- breaking vote. Republican Sens. Collins, Tillis, and Paul voted with all 47 Democrats against the bill. It now goes back to the House.
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